Not all rape victims choose to report crime

Around 4 500 rape survivors seek help from Rape Crisis centres around Cape Town every year - many of whom choose not to report the crime to police for various reasons.

Not all victims choose to report crime

noloyiso mtembu

AT LEAST 4 500 rape survivors seek counselling at Rape Crisis centres around the city every year.

This number, however, does not tally with reported cases and arrests of perpetrators as some rape survivors choose not to report incidents to the police for various reasons including a lack of faith in the criminal justice system.

Rape Crisis is a non-profit organisation which provides counselling for rape survivors while advocating for justice and campaigning for law reform. It has offices in Observatory, Athlone and Khayelitsha.

Rape Crisis director Kathleen Dey told Weekend Argus rape is still under-reported in the country and of the incidents that get reported, not all result in the conviction and sentencing of offenders.

She spoke of inadequacies in the criminal justice system which deterred women from reporting rape and testifying in court.

“Some courts, such as Khayelitsha are not friendly towards survivors.”

Survivors have to walk past the alleged perpetrator to the witness stand which survivors find intimidating. Survivors also have to endure humiliation from supporters of perpetrators or suspects as they enter the court because there are no separate entrance facilities.

She said the organisation had advocated for Khayelitsha court to be one of those earmarked for specialised sexual offences courts in the country because of the prevalence of rape in the area.

For a court to be a specialised sexual offences court the facilities should allow for separate entrances for survivors and suspects/offenders and, for witnesses, particularly children to testify in camera, Dey said.

Cases should be handled by a team of sexual offence specialists, from clerk to prosecutor to magistrate and the court should offer support services.

“If these elements are in place that will also improve policing and how evidence is dealt with,” Dey said.

The process rape survivors go through includes reporting the matter to the police, seeking counselling and attending a medical examination.

Nononelelo Mganu, who works as a counsellor at Victoria Hospital, said survivors often arrive in emotional distress.

She said her team handles between five to eight cases daily. “They often come here feeling powerless or even suicidal. It is my job to restore that person’s sense of self worth and dignity.”

She said she had seen children, teenagers and adults who had been raped and each case was different. “There is still a lot of stigma attached to being raped. In some families and communities, reporting is not encouraged and you find a survivor dealing with the trauma all by herself,” said Mganu.

She described rape as a “very traumatic violation” which affected counsellors as they tried to assist the survivor. “We have to debrief regularly and remind each other of our role in the difficult situation.”Spokeswoman for Victoria Hospital Monique Johnstone said there were four forensic centres in the Cape Town metro situated at Karl Bremer, Khayelitsha, Mitchell’s Plain/Heideveld and Victoria hospitals. “Patients are seen according to the areas served by these units. The forensic unit at Victoria Hospital attends to cases from 22 police stations.”

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development failed to respond to questions about establishing and maintaining sexual offences courts as well as plans to support rape survivors when they appear in court.